Meal Prep Week-Long Power Bowls

March 7, 2019Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on March 7, 2019

You’ve probably seen the meal prep trend online where dozens and dozens of meals are prepped in containers for the entire week? Holy moly. I can say that will probably never be me. I once tried an over-ambitious meal prep and not only did I end up with way too much food, but it took up most of my day.

On the flip side, I’ve realized that my veggie intake falls pretty flat when I don’t do any prep at all.

Soooo….there has to be a happy medium!?

This little dilemma is exactly why I came up with a simple plan that totally fits into my life these days. The recipe below (which is totally customizable!) takes less than 30 mins of active prep time, but makes enough food for several portions, increasing the odds that you’ll be a veggie powerhouse for the workweek. *arm flex* I love how I can quickly reheat a couple things and build a hearty, nutritious bowl in a matter of minutes!

My meal prep method has been going like this:

Roast two huge sheets of veggies

Cook a grain

Chop a couple fresh veggies (sometimes I skip this if I’m tight on time)

This method has dramatically changed my meals in recent weeks (specifically, lunches) and increased my veggie consumption a ton. All of the ingredients can be changed up so it never has to be repetitive and you can be flexible with using what you have in your fridge/pantry. It helps cut down waste because you can easily use up those “on the verge of dying” veggies in your crisper. Just throw ‘em in the oven and roast the heck out of ‘em! And if you get tired of bowls, throw the prepped food into delicious wraps or even soups/stews.

If you’re feeling extra-ambitious and want to prep even more food, I’d recommend adding one or more of the following tasty items:

Chia pudding (lately I’ve been making a double-batch of my 2-Ingredient Chia Pudding found in the new “Blissed Out Breakfast Bowls” recipe in the app! Such a perfect snack.)

I’ve provided a detailed recipe below because it helps to have something to work from the first time, but like I said, feel free to run with it. If you simply commit to roasting 2 big sheets of veggies, cook a grain, and chop some fresh veggies….you’ll be well on your way to making easy throw-together power bowls all week long. My future hangry self has been thanking me a lot.

5 from 8 reviews

Meal Prep Week-Long Power Bowls

Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

By Angela Liddon

I love having prepped food in the fridge, but don’t love doing hours of meal prep each week. So I came up with this simple method that takes just 25 minutes of active prep time. The healthy food components can be enjoyed for several days in power bowls, wraps, and even stirred into soups! Power bowls are so fun for family meals because you can switch up the veggies and toppings to suit each palate, giving kids control to build their own bowls. This recipe is also a handy make-ahead option if you’re having friends over for a meal. Simply chop all the veggies the night before and refrigerate them in containers. Just before your guests arrive, pop the veggies into the oven, cook the quinoa, and prep the toppings. After cooking, you can all have fun assembling your own power bowls and everyone will be super impressed by the stunning rainbow-coloured meal!

For the quinoa:

For the fresh veggies:

For the power bowl toppings:

Chopped lettuce/greens (Romaine, Iceberg, kale, etc)

Salad dressing***

Ripe avocados

Cooked beans or lentils

Nuts and seeds (I use hemp hearts and roasted pepitas)

Hummus or pesto

Directions:

Position two oven racks near the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line two extra-large (15- x 21-inches) rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. It’s important to use extra-large baking sheets so there’s enough room for all those healthy veggies.

Divide the chopped, “to-be-roasted” veggies onto the baking sheets. Drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil over top each sheet and toss the veggies until they’re fully coated in the oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Roast the veggies for 30 to 40 minutes (I find 35 minutes is perfect in my oven for lightly charred veggies) until fork tender and golden. There’s no need to rotate/move the pans or flip the veggies halfway through baking unless you’re particular about even cooking.

While the veggies are roasting, add the quinoa to a large pot along with 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) water. Stir. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to low-medium, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove the lid and fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork.

While the quinoa cooks, chop the cucumber and green onions. Rinse the tomatoes (I hold off slicing them until just before serving).

Remove the roasted veggies from the oven. Once mostly cool, transfer all of the veggies and quinoa into containers, seal with airtight lids, and place into the fridge for up to 4 days.

To make the power bowls: Add a couple generous handfuls of chopped lettuce/greens to the bottom of a large shallow bowl. Drizzle with a bit of dressing and toss the lettuce/greens until coated. Top with spoonfuls of your prepped food (quinoa, roasted and fresh veggies)—I always warm up the quinoa and roasted veggies first! Now, add diced avocado, more salad dressing, cooked beans or lentils, nuts and seeds, and hummus or pesto. Keep the power bowl flavours interesting by changing up the toppings each day!

Nutrition Information

Nutritional info includes all roasted veggies (with 3 tbsp olive oil), 1/2 teaspoon salt, quinoa, and fresh veggies. It does not include toppings.* Nutrition data is approximate and is for informational purposes only.

Tips:

* If your brussels sprouts are quite large, quarter them instead of halving.

Feel free to roast a head of garlic along with the veggies. The roasted cloves are especially delicious thrown into my Roasted Garlic and Red Wine Vinaigrette found in my Warm + Roasted Winter Salad Bowl recipe.

Make it nut-free: Top your bowl with seeds (such as roasted pepita seeds and hemp hearts) instead of nuts and make sure your dressing is nut-free.

Yummm! This looks so good! A bowl heaped with so much variety always feels so good to eat. Isn’t it amazing how much one can get done in such a short time when you know exactly where to focus? Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the great ideas about the dressings and toppings! I could be more creative there. I’ve been doing something similar since the first of the year, and it’s such a blessing! I just carve out a couple of hours on Sunday afternoons to get everything prepped and cooked, then I have all of my ingredients ready to put a meal together. I also do this for breakfast since I eat roasted veggies with my breakfast (really!). I even pre-peel my grapefruit! Who has time to get all of the pith off before rushing off to work? Not me!

haha love that!! Lately I’ve been making these power bowls for my breakfast too, so I can totally relate to enjoying roasted veggies in the morning. It’s so energizing and a nice break from oatmeal/smoothies.

If you don’t like the taste of oil or you don’t use it often just split the amount of oil in half and use organic butter for the other half. Then increase the amount of oil gradually. That’s what I did because my husband didn’t like the taste of food cooked with olive oil. But I have to admit…. that little bit of organic butter gives a sweet taste to the food lol

I loooooove this meal prep!
I can’t quite believe it all gets done in 30 minutes, but I’ve made the recipe, so I know it’s true :) These bowls have gotten me through the whole week…working with children often means I don’t get lunch until late in the day and the quality of the meal tends to lower the later the meal is eaten. I’ve been able to eat these health promoting bowls for lunch, served them to the children and had even had one for supper in the same day…changing up the legumes and dressing really switches up the flavour!

I love that you have all of the flavours in the recipe, and so many textures, too. Creamy, chewy, crunchy…wow! Thanks!

Pinky swear!! ;) My tester Nicole and I timed it several times and it was always about 25 minutes for us (and that included putting on the quinoa too!). It’s amazing how much you can get done with a plan. :)

I do something similar to this on good weeks (omg and the ones I don’t noticeably SUCK) but I also add in making something that’s easy to reheat in a microwave that I will enjoy eating 2-3 more times, because office life boooo. But when it’s delicious, it makes a sad desk lunch a little less so.

Hey L, We had the Android sale on last week as well, but unfortunately they have a rule that you cannot extend a sale in the Google Play store so we were only able to extend it in the iTunes store. Sorry about that!

It depends on what my day looks like, but if I’m testing a sweet/baked good I will often have that and then not be hungry for a healthy balanced lunch. So I try not to make too many sweets these days and it helps a lot. :)

Genius! I have been making baby steps in this direction. You have given me the needed boost to up my game. I like to eat these kind of bowls for breakfast too (a typical sweet and carby breakfast gives me a tough day). Thanks for the inspiration.

I usually spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I want and haven’t made a list like this to choose from. Your list makes it so much easier. My meals for the day are a green smoothie, a yogurt smoothie, something like this, and maybe another meal. I’m not sure I could eat as much as is shown in one meal. That’s a lot of food! If this makes 8 meals, then maybe I’ll cut it in half and spread it out for 5 lunches. Thanks for the great ideas.

This looks SUPER amazing!! I kinda lost my meal prep mojo and bowl making inspiration lately, but this inspires me!! I have been a huge fan for a few years now. I really enjoy your cookbooks and all your delicious recipes. You were my first ever homemade burger recipe . You taught me how delicious a meal is without meat and dairy. I remember my first flax egg, thinking this isn’t going to work , but it works every time lol. Thank you Angela, please keep it up.

Starting my meal plan for this week and so happy to have these ideas! Raising vegan kids in preschool is tough. No dips allowed (ie no hummus), no nuts, and only fruits and veggies for snack. My kindergartener comes home hangry on long days, and I have been struggling to get her to eat more at lunch instead of playing. Lol Hubby also wants more food. Voilà! Angela helps again! Thank you 😊

I’ve been loving your two-ingredient chia pudding… so filling and really gives you energy to last until lunch. I’ve been topping it with thawed strawberries from my freezer and a sprinkle of your perfect granola recipe. I imagine it’ll be on rotation throughout the summer too!

What a simple yet wonderful and inspiring idea! I cleaned out my fridge this week and roasted a random assortment of veggies while I had the oven on already for supper one eve. Have been enjoying these delicious and filling salads!

Hey Angela, this was a perfect read for today. I need to go grocery shopping and was lost on what veggies I wanted to get. I take a bowl to work for lunch most days so this gave me some new ideas.

I’d said last January I had a goal to make all the recipes last year in your Everyday cookbook and let you know my favorites (full confession – I haven’t made everything yet :/ but it’s because I bought the app and got distracted with making those recipes). But my favorites in the book so far: chocolate smoothie bowl, marinated lentils, OMG veggie burgers, crackers (always have them in the freezer). I feel like if I keep going on I’ll name everything I’ve made.

Hey Laura, I’m so glad it inspired you! I can relate to feeling lost on which veggies to buy sometimes. It can feel overwhelming standing in that produce section! hah.
And thanks so much for your app support and for letting me know about your fave osg every day recipes so far! Those are some of my faves too. :)

You can’t go wrong with a bowl bursting with rainbow-coloured goodness! I’m like you- I can’t do a week’s worth of meal prep in one day, but I love having bowl components on hand for quick meals throughout the week. I’m going to have to give your recipe a try!

Hi Angela: this looks great. I was wondering why you haven’t been posting on Instagram and FB and when I checked them out tonight, I noticed that they haven’t been updated since December 2018. Is something going on? I loved seeing your stories on IG

Hey Kelly, Aww thank you for thinking of me and for your kind words! That means a lot. I’ve been taking a social media break because I found I was spending too much time on my phone. It’s been really nice! But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon :)

I made this a few days ago. Absolutely delicious combination of flavors!

It took me about 22 minutes from taking the veg out of the grocery bags to putting them in the oven. I used 3 sheet pans. I made my own simple hummus from canned chickpeas which made a nice dressing so I didn’t feel the need for any other. I divided the roasted veg into 6 portions (I eat a lot) for the fridge, and have been assembling my power bowls for lunch each day which takes only a couple minutes. Thank you so much.

Been missing your posts online! I’m not sure if maybe your Instagram got hacked but the last post on there was November 2017? Just seemed odd, so I just wanted to mention in case you didn’t know. I noticed above it said you’ve been taking a break, but not sure if that means you haven’t checked it at all. Anyway I hope all is well! We all miss your posts!

Hey Kassandra, Thank you so much for checking in with me! I appreciate it so much. I’ve been trying to wrap up my 3rd cookbook (I’ve been so head down in it and it’s been INTENSE! I will be coming back to the blog though…I’m actually working on a recipe right now that I hope to share in the next couple weeks. Thanks so much for your patience with my lack of updates…I have not yet mastered juggling motherhood with multiple work projects very well. :)

I love having bowls for dinner! Thank you for this inspiration and recipe. I have been eating a mostly vegan diet for years now but recently my husband and two teenage boys decided to transition (after watching “What the Health on NetFlix) and one of their favorite meals is “the bowl” because each can make it his own way. They especially love roasted sweet potatoes as a topping! Your cookbooks and your beautiful new app have really helped me cook vegan meals for the whole family so thank you very much!

Aww thank you Dana!! I’m so sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. I’ve been trying to wrap up my 3rd cookbook (I’ve been so head down in it, I haven’t even officially announced it! lol…whoops). It has been intense! I will be coming back to the blog though…I’m actually working on a recipe right now that I hope to share in the next couple weeks. Thanks for your patience. I have not yet mastered juggling motherhood with big work projects very well. :) Hope you are well!

Thats soooooo EXCITING !!! Thanks for the update and I’m so happy to hear you didn’t take an early retirement. That was my fear 😆. You do glow and its contagious so keep up the great work and thanks for all you do !

These are some excellent tips that I’ll definitely have to implement! Often times I struggle to plan what to eat which usually results in eating the same thing over and over again or having to stress cook on a daily basis. Also, love bowls but usually do them from scratch each time which is ridiculously time-consuming – can’t believe I never considered meal-prepping for them instead! Thanks!

Thank you so much for all your recipes, our family just gobbles them up.. literally!

Hoping you can provide some advice for correctly oven-roasting vegetables? When we follow the steps the veggies turn out soft and “mushy” with only the tops of each veggie getting browned. Tried a few different batches with less oil/more temperature/time, but we still seem to have the same result. We usually do cauliflower, busses sprouts, carrots, sweet potato and yams (not all at the same time). Any advice?

So what evidence do have that this is a nutritios meal & what is the cost for said nutrients? Just because it has veggie xyz isnt proof of good balanced nutrient dense & cost effective healthy fuel for the mind & body, edpecially over several or more days. Where is the science to back up your “meals”. And not everyone can afford your options, I can’t as an unemployed senior on a govt pension. Seems to me all this jazz, hype & glam food sites are for the wealthy & those that “believe” (accept something to be true without evidence). I eat a vegan diet & have for 35 years but lots of roasted colorful veggies, some expensive nuts or seeds dont prove a nutritious meal.

Please expand your evidence on why a recipe or meal is nutritious & PLEASE cost out everything, ingredients, power, cost of appliances, which not everyone can afford.

Doing this recipe now. Thanks for the meal prep inspiration. Question about storage: after the roasted veggies have cooled, so you keep them in separate containers by vegetable, or mix all together and divvy into your lunch containers?

Hi, so grateful for the “meal prep week long power bowls.” Lends itself perfectly to our lifestyle, as we are both “retired,” and meal times, (and everything else) is not on a routine. So with grace and ease, we have the foods we enjoy and need, quick and easy, and so yummy, even for different eating schedules. Thank you for knowing sometimes we just need ONE good idea to get motivated again.

I believe the app has over 40 unique recipes that are only available in the app. Often Angela posts recipes to the app before they hit the website as well so there is that benefit, including a bunch of other features that aren’t available through the website. I know I’m responding a little late, but hopefully you’ve found some of the unique recipes already and are enjoying.

This looks like exactly what I need! I decided to go back to school in September to pursue a career in education. So far it’s been great – but I don’t always have enough leftovers for a proper lunch the next day, and since my workload is pretty intense, it can be a challenge to find time to make even a simple sandwich mid-week! (And then I end up spending way too much at the salad bar on campus.)

I love the idea of being able to spend an hour or so on the weekend prepping all my lunches for the week! I think it’s going to save me for the rest of the time I’m in school, and will help me stay healthy when I’m finished the program and out working.

Thank you Angela for sharing this. I’m making a New Year’s resolution to focus on eating healthier in 2020. And I know that one thing that will help me stay on track is to meal prep in advance. This couldn’t have come at a better time =)

Thank you for this page alone! Newly diagnosed with fairly serious heart disease at the age of 61, even after eating VERY healthy for 25 years, i.e. GF, DF, sugar free, no fried food or fast food. (It’s all hereditary.) So now I’m going vegan with only books and the internet to guide me. I’m hungry all the time and don’t know what to eat! This page is brilliant and gives me a great start. Thanks again.

Hey Angel!! Im excited to try this meal prep this week! My mouth is watering!! One question though … I want to make the roasted garlic red wine dressing but I dont see how much roasted garlic to add to the dressing. Thank you!!